


We Need To Talk About Sherlock [22/52]

by andrea_deer



Series: 52 aspec drabbles/ficlets of 2017 [22]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, 52 aspec drabbles, Angst, Aromantic Character, Aromantic Sherlock Holmes, Asexual Character, Asexual Sherlock, Coming Out, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 11:11:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12480224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andrea_deer/pseuds/andrea_deer
Summary: "You have a girlfriend?" John asks shocked and Sherlock fights back a smile."Yes, I have," he says, feigning confusion and hoping John will call out him on that.He told him so many times by now, but it seems it never stuck. John is shocked and disbelieving, but he never brings up the right arguments, the right words, even if they should be well within his arsenal by now, so Sherlock doesn't indulge him with the truth until it's needed.22nd of 52 aspec drabbles.





	We Need To Talk About Sherlock [22/52]

**one**

"Girlfriend? No, not really my area." Sherlock replies, lost in thoughts, while still looking outside.

Will the murderer appear? It is a very long shot, he mostly hopes to get a chance to experiment with John's limp, it might be inconvenient if he doesn't get rid of it quickly enough.

"You've got a boyfriend then? Which is fine."

"I know it's fine," Sherlock says quickly. Of course, it's fine, he has nothing against it in general. People can do whatever they please, he would simply appreciate them not tagging him along with the insanity.

"So you've got a boyfriend then?"

"No."

"Oh, so, you're unattached like me. That's good."

Oh. Oh no. Was he? Oh god. Why is it always so hard to tell, when it's happening to him? He's been told he missed obvious cues, so he tried to be precautious and actually warned Lestrade off, who found the whole thing hilarious once he caught up with Sherlock's meaning.

"John, while I am flattered, you should know I consider myself married to my work."

"No, no, I wasn't... No. It's fine. It's all fine."

Sherlock frowns. He's sure John doesn't understand, but they've just met and they're at _Angello _'s and there's a serial killer on the loose, he doesn't have the time nor will to explain himself to strangers. If they will become flatmates, friends perhaps, he suspects this is not completely out real of possibility, though highly unlikely, it will come up and he will have the time to properly explain.__

__He allows himself a brief annoyance that always comes with the thought of explaining it all. How uneducated people still are. How much more difficult it is to tell them the truth than to let them assume he is whatever they paged him for, gay, straight, sociopath._ _

__Now, however, is not the time for this annoyance either, because the cab slows down and stays there for far too long. Oooh, that's clever. Is it clever? Why is it clever?_ _

__**two** _ _

__They're working on a case that is intertwined with a group of sex workers. Sherlock would be excited, sex workers are sometimes a beginner's crime for a serial killer, but the victims are very specific and the murder itself is dull while the case is muddled with personal drama of the victims. Sherlock interviews everybody connected, reads their social media to learns about them, talks with them in his head and it still doesn't make sense._ _

__"Why would he even be with her, it was her night off, there was no cash exchanged unless it was taken, but nothing points to that," Sherlock rants to himself to stay focused._ _

__"Yeah, why would he sleep with her, a true mystery," says John, mockingly and looking at him with a mirth in his eyes as if to share a joke._ _

__Sherlock frowns and John's expression slowly changes, slackens, his eyebrows lifting in surprise._ _

__"What?" Sherlock snaps._ _

__"Seriously?" John rolls his eyes when silence is his only answer. "You walk into the room and know what a person you've never met had for breakfast, when did they get here and what's their dog's name, but you see a guy with an attractive girl in bed and you get confused?"_ _

__"I focused on her occupation and thought of it as a business meeting, I failed to notice she clearly mixed business with pleasure."_ _

__"Rather hard not to with a job like that."_ _

__Sherlock makes a sour face, just thinking about it in too much detail by accident. He shakes his head to lose the thought._ _

__"I'm sure one can manage."_ _

__John frowns at him and Sherlock is already rolling his eyes and quickly walking away, avoiding eye contact. John makes this face when he is trying to figure Sherlock out and it never means anything good, considering both all the sharp bits that make Sherlock and John's lack of ability to look at them from the right perspective._ _

__"Do you ever even-"_ _

__"No time for chatting, John. Lestrade is waiting for us."_ _

__"No, he's not. He said to come back when we have something."_ _

__"Well, I do have something."_ _

__"You found a lead?" John asks, hurring behind Sherlock and down the stairs._ _

__"No," Sherlock grins, twirling around to face his friend. "I found a murderer."_ _

__**three** _ _

__Sherlock thinks it's too obvious._ _

__Then he remembers people are idiots and always believe what they want._ _

__He wonders how far he can push it._ _

__Of course, Janine doesn't really know him. She met him once, at the wedding, he was being nice. It's not hard to convince her that his less nice moments were an effect of stress. It's believable. Again, she doesn't know him well enough to know that it was his good behavior that was actually an effect of stress and very strong will. Utterly fake. She thinks he's interesting and oddly funny. It's enough to work with for awhile, she's not a problem._ _

__Everyone else is._ _

__Lestrade would make this confused face he always does when he's trying to figure out if Sherlock is playing with him. Maybe he could be convinced enough not to protest, but he wouldn't ever really believe it. Ready to jump with the hearty "I knew it!" the moment the act was dropped. Molly would be upset enough to get fooled for a while, but then she would see him being sweet and she'd figure it out. She is a smart girl. Mrs. Hudson would be hopeful enough to try and lie to herself. Mycroft would just roll his eyes, he lost the hope a long time ago._ _

__John..._ _

__He thought John would be harder to fool._ _

__"You have a girlfriend?" John asks shocked and Sherlock fights back a smile._ _

__"Yes, I have," he says, feigning confusion and hoping John will call out him on that._ _

__He told him so many times by now, but it seems it never stuck. John is shocked and disbelieving, but he never brings up the right arguments, the right words, even if they should be well within his arsenal by now, so Sherlock doesn't indulge him with the truth until it's needed._ _

__**four** _ _

__"You are a living, breathing man. You've lived a life, you have a past."_ _

__"A what?!" This shouldn't be happening not here, not now._ _

__Although somehow he knows it did happen. It does happen. Both here and now. A lot of times._ _

__"Well, you must have had..."_ _

__Why is he so tenacious, this is not what they're here about and yet it's always there, isn't it? Underneath all of their conversations._ _

__"Had what?"_ _

__Sherlock should finally just tell him._ _

__"You know."_ _

__He would be insufferable, but maybe the torture of those conversations would finally end._ _

__"No."_ _

__Eventually._ _

__"Experiences."_ _

__"Pass me your revolver, I have a sudden need to use it."_ _

__"Damn it, Holmes, you are flesh and blood, you have feelings, you have... You must have... Impulses."_ _

__That's what Sherlock always feared, that John would insist it's just Sherlock being Sherlock. That it's not a real thing, not a real explanation. And Sherlock had heard it all before. You're not asexual, you just have issues. You're not aromantic, you git, you're just an arsehole. It's not a real thing, Sherlock. You're a sociopath._ _

__He heard it all and now he hears it in John's voice and now is - not - the - time!_ _

__"Dear Lord, I have never been so impatient to be attacked by a murderous ghost."_ _

__**five** _ _

__"As I think I have explained to you _many_ times before, romantic entanglement, while fulfilling for other people..."_ _

__"Would complete you as a human being," John interrupts and Sherlock wants to punch him. He wants to hold him and make him stay, but good Lord he also wants to punch him._ _

__"That doesn't even mean anything," he says instead and lets John talk instead. This isn't about him._ _

__**plus one** _ _

__They're at the crime scene again, just for a moment this time. Rosamund is in Lestrade's car, happily playing in her seat and talking to herself and her plushie rabbit, but she won't be satisfied with this for long. They stopped for a moment just so Sherlock could glance around and point Lestrade in the right direction. The man is run thin, the Yard understuffed due to the flu season and Sherlock feels magnanimous enough to share a few minutes, as long as it's not enough for the takeout that is keeping warm on a seat next to Rosamund to lose all its heat._ _

__John narrates calmly, half talking to Lestrade, half trying to figure things out himself. Sherlock just humms back at him, feigning interest while focusing on the difference between the footprints in the alley._ _

__"Okay, so those two snuck out into the alley for a bit of fun like we all did in a day even if some of us pretend they've never felt the urge," John's monologue take that characteristic tone of 'I'm mocking you' which for John often means 'I'm mocking you to check if you're listening' so Sherlock obligingly rolls his eyes at him._ _

__"I guess that's his privilege as the asexual one in the group," Lestrade mumbled before yawning hugely._ _

__Sherlock stares at him while John falls silent and turns towards the policeman as well. After a short moment, Lestrade notices the doubled attention and blinks owlishly._ _

__"What?" he asks, his voice muffled due to his stuck nose._ _

__"What do you mean-" John starts asking, but Sherlock interrupts quickly._ _

__"The cook from the bar did it," he says and then in the growing generous mood adds: "You will find the murder weapon under the bin, probably with his fingerprints or DNA, he accidentally dropped it and didn't have the opportunity to retrieve it since the police arrive. He didn't get a chance to clean it. He was in love with one of them, though I'm not certain which. He will confess, it was a passion murder, he's not prepared to deal with the consequences."_ _

__"Oh," Lestrade looks surprised at the detailed information, but quickly snaps out of it, clearly deciding to just take it gladly without looking the gift horse in the mouth. He grins at Sherlock. "Thanks, Sherlock, that's brilliant."_ _

__"Yes," Sherlock agrees. "I am. Goodnight, Lestrade."_ _

__"Yeah, 'night guys." Lestrade waves as Sherlock moves quickly towards the car, John following him slowly in a thoughtful silence._ _

__Sherlock guesses they finally will have that conversation he kept putting off for years now. He grabs Rosamund and passes the takeaway to John, not meeting his eyes._ _

__Part of him is relieved._ _

__He catches them a cab quickly even though they're not that far from Baker Street. Rosamund is getting sleepy, she will get fussy soon, it's better to avoid it._ _

__Part of him is annoyed that Lestrade didn't need the talk, but he tries not to dwell on it._ _

__"So, asexual?" John asks and Sherlock raises his eyebrows._ _

__"I thought it rather self-evident."_ _

__He turns towards the car window and talks to Rosamund, answering her inane questions as she points at the things they're passing._ _

__The cab is not really the place for this conversation, he thinks._ _

__But they don't talk about it at home either._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/works/lordnochybaty.tumblr.com) or come to [my aspec sideblog](http://acesthetically-pleasing.tumblr.com/) for more aspec goodies :)


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